ELSPETH BURNSIDE

Scots Kirsty Gilmour and Kieran Merrilees marched confidently into the quarter-finals of the singles at The Emirates Arena.

Gilmour, the No.2 seed, continued an easy passage with a 21-4 21-6 win over Yeldy Louison (Mauritius).

“It was pretty straightforward and I’m very happy,” said the Bothwell 20-year-old after taking another step towards a medal.

Gilmour had partnered Imogen Bankier to a late Wednesday night defeat in the women’s doubles against England’s Lauren Smith and Gabby Adcock and so it was a fairly quick turnaround to be back on court.

“I had an ice bath at midnight which was horrendous and the didn’t get to sleep until about 2am,” she continued. “It was disappointing to lose that match because it was really close. But we took the positives out of it and now I’m focusing on the singles.”

Merrilees had a slightly tougher match against Northern Ireland’s Tony Murphy but won through 21-15 21-8.

“I started slowly so happy to win quite comfortably in the end,” said the 24-year-old Glaswegian. “Now I’m looking forward to playing (England’s) Rajiv Ouseph in the quarters.

“He’s the best singles player GB has produced in the last 20 years and we train together all the time at Mitlon Keynes. He’s also my best friend but I still want to beat him.

“We’ve played a few times and I’ve come close to taking a set but never quite managed to get over the line. Maybe tomorrow?”